51–60 of 126 posts
What’s the pathological obsession with needing to be a unique snowflake? Nail that stands out should get hammered in, that’s a bad nail.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It sounds to me like their "trick" is simply not acting from the psychological position that you need to do something you're not doing in order to realize your authentic or best self. Wu wei?
Exactly. 無為
How do we know when we "are [...] being the "authentic you"" when so much of our early lives have been conditioned by our environment if we never challenge that by looking for other ways; be that through exploring western "self-help", Chinese philosophy, or both (and others).
Maybe it's through that action, the West's obsession with "self-help" that demands they do things to realize their special-ness, that allows them to actually discover the way, or non action, or their way. To say that another persons self-cultivation, or development, journey is the wrong way and that what is best for them is to do nothing is a mirror of the thing you disparage.
> Your life’s goal should be to become the most improbable person you can be. Your life's goal should not be dictated by Substack philosophers. > Here is what you gain with your most improbable life: > The authentic you. Your particular mix of talents, native abilities, personal inclinations, genetic limits, life experiences, and ambitious desires points to a mixture that is distinctly unique – if it is allowed to bl…
So you’re suggesting that some philosophers/ideas are “special” while random writers on Substack are not. Immediately contradicts the spirit of your next criticism:
> The West's obsession with "self-help" is built on convincing individuals that they are special but not living up to their special-ness … Which begs the question: are you being the "authentic you" if you are following a path laid out by someone else?
So YOU are special after all? “Someone else on Substack” is wrong but I am right? Why should I listen to you?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand the urge to diminish individualism when it's the basis of our modern ethics and human rights. It's not that people are "special", it's that people are unique and not just a statistic, or a member of a group, or a means to an end. It's not about "living up to their special-ness" but about realising their potential as a human being. The article is basically just an argument for one method towards ach…
> I don't understand the urge to diminish individualism when it's the basis of our modern ethics and human rights. Where did I diminish individualism? The point I made was that, perhaps, you don't need someone else telling you that you're not being yourself and not living up to your potential, and then offering you a path you weren't naturally inclined to take to get to where they tell you you're supposed to be. > Th…
When I read others works, I am still doing my own take on it. It is my interpretation and application of the ideas.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, let's start with the second sentence: > Your path, your character, your life, should be the most unlikely, the most unexpected, the least predictable version you can make. Now, I ask you, is that really what I want from my kid's school bus driver?
Huh. The post in effect is about a choice of one's career, about what one offers to the world. Of course the execution of the chosen career must remain flawless. One must develop one's own unique offering. Don't let the world trap you in its box. I came across a bus driver today that told me he owned a juice bar on the side, and invited me to visit. I thought this was most unexpected. This didn't make him a bad drive…
You do a huge disservice to the author. He mentions much more than that, just in that one sentence.
Again:
> Your path, your character, your life, should be the most unlikely, the most unexpected, the least predictable version you can make.
Why, if you're a nice guy, you should become a serial killer!
> I came across a bus driver today that told me he owned a juice bar on the side, and invited me to visit. I thought this was most unexpected.
You must live a sheltered life. Bus drivers were doing serious side hustles before there was even a name for those.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Huh. The post in effect is about a choice of one's career, about what one offers to the world. Of course the execution of the chosen career must remain flawless. One must develop one's own unique offering. Don't let the world trap you in its box. I came across a bus driver today that told me he owned a juice bar on the side, and invited me to visit. I thought this was most unexpected. This didn't make him a bad drive…
Sadly people are fulfilling the very probable nerd stereotype of aggressively misunderstanding philosophy and then trashing on it. I'm not sure how someone could even come to the conclusion that living an improbable life = swerving into oncoming traffic, but here we are.
Sadly people are fulfilling the very probable dilettante stereotype of acting like pretentious crap actually has meaning.
> I'm not sure how someone could even come to the conclusion that living an improbable life = swerving into oncoming traffic, but here we are.
Did you actually read the fucking sentence and think about it?
It doesn't have to be swerving into traffic. It could just be not showing up on time to get the kids to school. It could be sexual assault of a minor.
In general, a good life involves showing up for people and supporting them. If you do that well, people come to expect it, and then...
Well, guess what? In a huge, important (to others!) part of your life, you become rather predictable.
> Your life’s goal should be to become the most improbable person you can be. Your life's goal should not be dictated by Substack philosophers. > Here is what you gain with your most improbable life: > The authentic you. Your particular mix of talents, native abilities, personal inclinations, genetic limits, life experiences, and ambitious desires points to a mixture that is distinctly unique – if it is allowed to bl…
The next level of realization is that every path you've been following your entire life has been laid out by someone else, or chosen due to the value system imparted by someone else, so there's not really an authentic "you" in the way that people like to believe.
Not all of us were believed we had to be a specific thing handed to us, some of us were born natural absurdists and figured it out as we went along.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Huh. The post in effect is about a choice of one's career, about what one offers to the world. Of course the execution of the chosen career must remain flawless. One must develop one's own unique offering. Don't let the world trap you in its box. I came across a bus driver today that told me he owned a juice bar on the side, and invited me to visit. I thought this was most unexpected. This didn't make him a bad drive…
> The post in effect is about a choice of one's career... You do a huge disservice to the author. He mentions much more than that, just in that one sentence. Again: > Your path, your character, your life, should be the most unlikely, the most unexpected, the least predictable version you can make. Why, if you're a nice guy, you should become a serial killer! > I came across a bus driver today that told me he owned a…
> Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.
And as for your comment:
> you should become a serial killer!
Please not preach violence on this site, whether intended or not.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sadly people are fulfilling the very probable nerd stereotype of aggressively misunderstanding philosophy and then trashing on it. I'm not sure how someone could even come to the conclusion that living an improbable life = swerving into oncoming traffic, but here we are.
> Sadly people are fulfilling the very probable nerd stereotype of aggressively misunderstanding philosophy and then trashing on it. Sadly people are fulfilling the very probable dilettante stereotype of acting like pretentious crap actually has meaning. > I'm not sure how someone could even come to the conclusion that living an improbable life = swerving into oncoming traffic, but here we are. Did you actually read…